What's News: October, 13 2015

Three more plantation companies have been identified as suspects in Indonesia's probe of illegal forest fires that have resulted in hazardous levels of air pollution in parts of South-east Asia, taking the number of alleged corporate offenders to 12. This comes as joint aerial firefighting operations involving Singapore made progress in reducing the number of fires.

Singapore's first liberal arts college, Yale-NUS College, cannot be a carbon copy of Yale University in the United States if it wants to succeed, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday. Instead, the college needs a curriculum and college ethos that responds to the context of Asia, he added.

Indonesia is looking to treble the number of international tourists it receives to nearly 30 million by 2018, in a bid to boost a flagging economy. There were 9.4 million tourist arrivals last year and the Ministry of Tourism wants to raise the sector's contribution to the country's total growth to about 15 per cent by 2019.

The deadly twin suicide bombings in Turkey just three weeks before elections on Nov 1 have deepened the political divide in the country, with the mourning mixed with angry recriminations. Most polls suggest that the outcome of the Nov 1 vote will be similar to the stalemate seen after the June elections, with no party winning a majority.

With more than 18,000 national and local positions, from president to councillors, up for grabs in the Philippine elections on May 9 next year, thousands of politicians are expected to file their certificates of candidacy by the Friday deadline.

The recently concluded Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is another nail in the coffin of a multilateral global trade system that brought the world together in the past six decades, says By Invitation columnist Jean-Pierre Lehmann.

Driverless vehicles will soon appear on roads here, as the Government tests the use of such technology in areas like public transport and freight operations. From as early as December, visitors to Gardens by the Bay can go around its grounds on driverless shuttles.

At least 76 complaints have been lodged with the Consumers Association of Singapore against a bridal salon that abruptly closed at the weekend. The complaints against Sophia Wedding Collection involved wedding packages totalling more than $130,000.

The Singapore Exchange will be taking a close look at the annual reports of mainboard-listed firms to see if they adhere to the "comply or explain" requirement in the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance. This is part of a review to raise corporate governance standards and spot any misconduct early, said chief regulatory officer Tan Boon Gin yesterday.

Singapore's swimmers have achieved much over the decades, usually in the shorter events, including the 50m and 100m sprints. But a new initiative by head coach Sergio Lopez (above) looks set to develop local long-distance swimmers, with two of the seven in the squad being Jonathan Tan and Rachel Tseng.

Landscape architects here now have an accreditation programme to call their own. This was launched at the 10th Singapore Landscape Architecture Awards ceremony held at the Pan Pacific Singapore yesterday. Along with the presentation of 22 awards, 114 newly accredited landscape architects were also recognised.